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Finance leaders back EU, US to-do list to shield growth

By REUTERS

OCTOBER 13, 2012 13:42

TOKYO - World finance leaders on Saturday endorsed a checklist of policy reforms aimed at pressuring Europe and the United States to tackle debt troubles that threaten to choke off global growth.

To hold each others' feet to the fire, the nations -- meeting under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund -- agreed to review progress in six months.

Their 10-page agenda, however, largely summarized previously planned steps, such as deploying a new European Central Bank bond-buying program and avoiding the US "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes set to take hold early next year.

The checklist and checkup were an acknowledgement of frustration within the IMF and among many emerging market economies over a sluggish and piecemeal policy response to the major risks facing the world economy.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said nations had narrowed their differences over how to implement policy, seeking to downplay disagreements between the Fund and Germany over how quickly debt-laden countries such as Greece should cut budgets.

"There was no objection to the recommendation that we gave to the membership, which was A-C-T," Lagarde said, spelling out the word letter by letter.

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